Race for places is on for the NSL National Championships

Mon 12 Jun 2017

The second weekend of play in the 2017 National Softball League took place at Diamond Series 2 over the weekend of 10-11 June at Farnham Park, and with just one weekend of play left to go, places in the NSL Nationals are still up for grabs.

The National Softball League consists of two divisions – NSL 1 (A-grade) and NSL 2 (B-grade). Each division has 12 teams, and when NSL play has been concluded, at Diamond Series 3 on 29-30 July, eight teams from each division will go forward to the NSL National Championships on 2-3 September at Farnham Park.

NSL 1​

The Chromies managed five wins, a loss and a draw over the Diamond 2 weekend, and that was enough to put them into first place in the NSL 1 standings with a one-game lead over the defending National Champion Pioneers.

The Pioneers defeated the Chromies 8-2 when the teams played each other, but Pioneers suffered unexpected losses to two Manchester teams, Thunder and Greensox, and could only draw with the Knights, and thus allowed the Chromies to pass them in the standings. The two teams were tied after Diamond Series 1.

Behind the Chromies and Pioneers, Blue Steel, H2O, Legends and Knights, occupying places 3-6 in the standings, look fairly comfortable at this point for Nationals qualification. The Knights have fewer wins than the teams above them, but an amazing five draws (only one other team has as many as two) have bolstered their position in the table.

Below the Knights, the fight for the final two Nationals places could get exciting at Diamond 3. Greensox and Thunder currently occupy seventh and eighth positions, both on seven losses, but the Travelling Dodgers and Bristol Bees, both with 5-8 records, are right on their tails.

LNZ (3-10) will have to mount a huge effort at Diamond 3 to get back in contention, and the Terriers, on 0-14, are essentially out of the race.

Here are the current standings:

TEAMS

W

L

D

PCT

GB

RUN DIFF

Chromies

11

2

1

.821

---

+107

Pioneers

10

3

1

.750

1

+68

Blue Steel

9

4

1

.679

2

+16

H2O

8

5

1

.607

3

+18

Legends

8

5

1

.607

3

+33

Knights

6

3

5

.607

3

+34

Greensox

6

7

1

.464

5

-10

Thunder

5

7

2

.429

5.5

-6

Travelling Dodgers

5

8

1

.393

6

-18

Bristol Bees

5

8

1

.393

6

-12

LNZ

3

10

1

.250

8

-73

Terriers

0

14

0

.000

11.5

-157

NSL 2

Blitz led the NSL 2 standings after Diamond 1 with an unbeaten 7-0 record, but after Diamond 2 they are sharing the top spot with Misfits, with both teams on 11-3. The Naturals (10-3) and KKs (9-4) will still have a chance to challenge for the top spot when the final league games are played at Diamond 3.

Warriors (7-5) and Mavericks (7-6) are currently in fifth and sixth place respectively, and will quality for the NSL 2 Nationals if they can win some games at Diamond 3.

Below them, however, the race for the final two Nationals places could be a dogfight, with SPAM, the Maidenhead Royals and Ninos Privados all on eight losses (though Privados have two draws and fewer wins).

The Bees ‘B’ and Outlaws, on 10 losses, and the Portsmouth Dodgers on 12, will have a lot of ground to make up at Diamond 3 if they hope to sneak into a Nationals place.